Knowing What They Want to Do on Energy

The letter that Walter Schmidt, of North Scituate, sent in to the Providence Journal deserves a hear hear:

A July 2 letter ("Bill's passage a fine day for the environment") thanked U.S. Reps. Patrick Kennedy and James Langevin for voting for the "cap and trade" bill.

The author, however failed to mention the cost of this bill. While not a direct tax on the public, it is a stealth tax. The bill would tax energy producers by forcing them to purchase carbon credits. This tax will be passed on to consumers and will raise the cost of electricity, heating oil, natural gas and gasoline. Estimated increases range from $1,400 to $3,000 per household per year depending on usage.

Manufacturers and farmers will also pass their increased energy and transportation costs on to the consumer, raising the price of virtually everything.

Raising taxes on companies that produce and deliver energy will also cost jobs as they downsize to reduce expenses. With unemployment approaching 10 percent nationally, this should be unthinkable. The "green" jobs this bill would create would compensate for some of these losses but we need more jobs, not a transfer of jobs.

This bill has other negatives. New homes would be required to conform to the energy standards of California, the state that's issuing IOUs to state workers. Before you could sell an existing home it might have to pass an energy audit and be brought up to code at your expense. This will not help the housing market.

We are in the grip of the worst recession since the Great Depression. Passing any legislation that increases taxes, the cost of living and unemployment is insanity.

On the bright side, the letter gave me an excuse to watch the cap-and-trade song again: